Modern Slavery Policy

Objective

This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that GuardWatch Security UK Ltd has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain.
Modern slavery is a criminal offense under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”). The Act is designed to tackle slavery in the UK and consolidates previous offenses relating to trafficking and slavery. Modern slavery can occur in various forms, including servitude, forced or compulsory labor and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.
GuardWatch Security UK Ltd has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.

Suppliers

GuardWatch Security UK Ltd operates a supplier policy and maintains a preferred supplier list. We conduct due diligence on all suppliers before allowing them to become a preferred supplier. This due diligence includes an online search to ensure that a particular organization has never been convicted of offenses relating to modern slavery and on-site audits which include a review of working conditions. Our anti-slavery policy forms part of our contract with all suppliers and they are required to confirm that no part of their business operations contradicts this policy. In addition to the above, as part of our contract with suppliers, we require that they confirm to us that:

They have taken steps to eradicate modern slavery within their business;
They hold their own suppliers to account over modern slavery;
For UK based suppliers, they pay their employees at least the national minimum wage / national living wage (as appropriate);
For international suppliers, they pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable within their country of operations;
We may terminate the contract at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.

Training

We regularly conduct training for our procurement / buying teams so they understand the signs of modern slavery and what to do if they suspect it is taking place within our supply chain.

Policies

We operate a number of internal policies to ensure we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:
Recruitment policy: The Company operates a recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Whistleblowing policy: The Company operates a whistleblowing policy so all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.
Code of business conduct: This code explains the manner in which we behave as an organisation and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.

Reporting Concerns

In the first instance, all modern slavery crimes should be reported to the local police by calling 999;
If colleagues hold information that could lead to the identification, discovery and recovery of victims in the UK, they should contact the Modern Slavery Helpline 0800 0121 700.
For more information, colleagues are advised to visit: www.unseenuk.org
Alternatively, colleagues can make calls anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Performance Reports

We will know the effectiveness of the steps we are taking to ensure slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if no reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.